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FRONTLINE/World and Public Radio International reporter Clark Boyd travels to Uganda to see firsthand how a San Francisco-based non-profit called Kiva is revolutionizing the world of micro-credit. The concept of Kiva is simple. With just a credit card, a lender in the US can make a loan as small as $25 to a small business in the developing world. What's different about Kiva is that -- through the Internet -- a more direct connection is forged between lender and borrower. In Uganda, FRONTLINE/World meets with loan recipients like Grace Ayaa, whose peanut butter business received a micro-loan from Kiva. "I bought the packaging materials with that money," says Ayaa. "I bought more of the produce: the sesame and the peanuts. ... And this really increased my sales. And I feel so happy about that." The loans are small, but they have a big impact in impoverished communities. Matt and Jessica Flannery, the young social entrepreneurs who started Kiva, tell FRONTLINE/World that so far individuals have given more than $400,000 and the repayment rate is 100%. And what started in one village in Uganda has spread to eleven other countries in just over a year.
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